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National Park Updates
Timed Entry Parks*
Glacier
Carlsbad Caverns (Reservation required for self-guided Natural Entrance Tour)
Rocky Mountain
Arches
Yosemite (Permit required to enter/drive through the park during peak visitation, this includes crossing the Sierra via Tioga Road)
Mount Rainier (Required for Sunrise only)
*A permit is required to drive into specific areas during periods of peak visitation. It does not guarantee parking. Entrance fee is not included with permit fee. You can enter freely before/after the timed-entry period or use alternate entrances (at some parks).
Permit-Required Attractions
Cadillac Mountain (Acadia)
Old Rag (Shenandoah)
Parking Permit (Great Smoky Mountains)
Tram Tours (Gateway Arch)
Cave Tours (Carlsbad Caverns)
Cliff Dwelling Tours (Mesa Verde)
Inner Canyon (Black Canyon of the Gunnison)
White Rim Road (Canyonlands)
Angel's Landing (spring, summer, fall, winter) (Zion)
Narrows - Overnight, Full, or Beyond Big Springs (Zion)
Subway/Left Fork (Zion)
Toroweap (Grand Canyon)
Mount Whitney (Sequoia)
Half Dome (Yosemite)
Tall Trees (Redwood)
Fern Canyon (Redwood)
Sunrise (Haleakala)
Camping Reservations Required
Acadia
Shenandoah
Great Smoky Mountains
Congaree
Grand Teton
Yellowstone / Xanterra
Glacier
Hot Springs
Big Bend
Rocky Mountain
Zion
Grand Canyon
Joshua Tree
Sequoia-Kings Canyon
Yosemite
Lassen Volcanic
Olympic
Closures (East)
- Precipice, Jordan Cliffs, Penobscot East trails (every summer for falcons)
- Carriage roads only open to pedestrians (every spring during mud season)
- Hemlock Path (restoration work)
- Dickerson Run Trail (closed TBD)
- Single lane closure along Skyline Drive between miles 72.8 and 75.7
- Rend Trail (bridge out)
- Keeney's Creek (closed above junction with Conveyor Trail)
- Kate's Plateau (closed near junction with Glade Creek Trail)
- Green River Ferry (TBD, repair)
- Old Guides, Heritage, and Sunset Point trails (TBD, repair)
- Laurel Falls Trail (closed until summer 2026, rehabilitation)
- Boardwalk Trail (boardwalk replacement sections D & E, can still do out-and-back options)
- Boca Chita Lighthouse (closed for repair)
- Paurotis Pond (summers, nesting birds)
- Pa-Hay-Okee Overlook Trail (closed for replacement)
- Moat Wall (closed for repair)
- Bush Key (Spring-Fall, closed for nesting birds)
Closures (North)
- Marquette Trail (Closed until end of year, modernization)
- Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk (partial closure due to erosion/unsafe conditions, pier access still open)
- None
- Food storage required for campers
- Rock Harbor Lighthouse tower and museum closed
- TBD
- None
- Cave Tours suspended as of 4/28/25 (elevator issues ... again)
- South Unit Scenic Loop Road closed from marker 22 to marker 28 (to all traffic, including pedestrian and bicycle)
- Jenny Lake Boat Launch (closed 2025)
- Jenny Lake Campground (closed until July 1)
- Moose Landing (construction for 2025, but boat ramp should remain open)
- Biscuit Basin (closed since 7/23/24)
- Click "road info" for seasonal road closures
- Many Glacier (only accessible to lodge guests, boat ticket holders, horseback ride participants, and anyone who secures tickets for hiking shuttles)
- Going-to-the-Sun Road (typically fully opens in late June/early July, but it's partially open year-round, with hiker/biker shuttles running weekends in spring on the West side)
Closures (South)
- Fordyce Bathouse Visitor Center closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning 3/5/2025
- East Rim Trail (a portion closes seasonally from February through May to protect falcons)
- Chisos Basin (Two large construction projects will cause major disruptions to visitor access until 2027; it remains open, expect complications/delays)
- Panther Junction Convenience Store (closed, remodel, gas still available)
- Click for Backcountry Closures
- Williams Ranch Road (closed)
- Walnut Canyon Desert Drive (closed, TBD)
- Interdune Boardwalk (closed due to active Dunes Drive Safety Corridor)
- Backcountry camping (closed, TBD)
- Click here for military testing closures
- None
- None, except Mica View Trail will be closed at an undetermined future date for improvements
Closures (Southwest)
- Trail Ridge Road (closed seasonally for winter)
- Old Fall River Road (closed seasonally for winter)
- Elk Rut Closures: Horseshoe Park, Moraine Park, Upper Beaver Meadows, Harbison Meadow, and Holzwarth Meadow (September - October)
- Raptor Closures (February 15 - July 31)
- East Shore Trail (Bald Eagle Closure, November 15 - March 15)
- Bighorn Sheep Closures: Horseshoe Park, West Alluvial Fan (April 15 - August 31)
- Tundra Closures: Forest Canyon Overlook, Rock Cut, Lava Cliffs, Gore Range Overlook, Alpine Visitor Center (off-trail hiking is prohibited within 100 yards of the trails and parking lots)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
- Expect delays due to South Rim Road construction
- Spruce Tree House has been closed to self-guided tours since 2015
- None
- Everything's open, click here for road details
- Seasonal Canyon Closures: Burro Wash, Fivemile Wash, Shinob Canyon, Headquarters Canyon (closed April 1 - August 31)
- Click the link above for seasonal closures
- Under-the-Rim Trail remains open but has deteriorated
- South Campground (closed for 2025 for rehabilitation)
- Weeping Rock Shuttle Bus Stop, Parking Area, and trail closed due to 2024 rockfall
- Observation Point Trail/Hidden Canyon Trail from Zion Canyon remain closed due to a 2018 rockfall - You can reach Observation Point via East Mesa Trail (East Mesa or Stave trailheads)
- The Narrows closes based on water flow rate. Click here for current status.
- North Rim closes seasonally for winter
- Plateau Point Trail (closed until October)
- Bright Angel Trail (closed until May 15 from Havasupai Gardens to Colorado River)
- River Trail and Silver Bridge (closed until October 1)
- Bright Angel Campground (closed until May 15)
- Tusayan Museum (closed, TBD)
- Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive closes seasonally for winter
Closures (West)
- NPS wants you to use their app for hiking - It's probably fine; I use AllTrails, which is great but you have to read between the reviews (some of the best hikes I've done, I've found by hunting down selfish individuals who leave nothing but 1-star reviews--others bombard great trails with glowing 4-star reviews; lots of games are played).
- Beach and dunes at China Camp and Cluster Point (Santa Rosa): closed
- Santa Barbara Island Dock (closed, TBD)
- Talus caves close periodically due to flooding and seasonally for bats. Click here for status.
- Click here for rock climbing closures.
- Road to Lower Darwin Falls Trailhead is washed out. Hikers must park along CA-190 and walk in.
- Click here for current road status.
- Click link above for seasonal road closures.
- Kings Canyon Visitor Center is closed on Tuesdays
- Click link above for seasonal road closures.
- Half Dome cables are lifted and wooden slats installed around Memorial Day and dropped/removed in October.
- A large area behind the Ahwahnee Hotel is closed due to rockfall hazard.
- Click link above for seasonal road closures.
- The park was closed due to the Park Fire when I was in the area in 2024, and I'm guessing some areas areas are closed due to it (and the Dixie Fire), but I couldn't find any reliable information. Drakesbad Guest Ranch reopened for this year, so that's a good sign, things are heading in a more positive direction. Hopefully no fires in 2025 and beyond.
- Click link above for seasonal road closures and footbridge status.
- Alder Basin Trail (closed for restoration)
- Click link above for seasonal road closures.
- Cleetwood Cove Trail is scheduled to close for the 2026 and 2027 season (meaning no swimming or boat tours those years)
- Carbon River/Mowich Lake (closed indefinitely due to degrading bridge)
- Grove of the Patriarchs Trail (closed since 2021)
- Click here for current park road status.
- Elwha (closed to vehicles beyond Madison Falls)
- Hoh Rain Forest (closed until Upper Hoh Road is confirmed safe by the county)
- Click here for current park road status.
- Click link above for seasonal road closures.
- Hozomeen (remains closed to vehicles through Canada)
Closures (Alaska)
Seasonal closures are not included.
Glacier Bay
- None
- None
- Denali Park Road closed beyond Mile 43 (until summer 2026 at the earliest for construction of a $100M suspension bridge) - You can still fly into Kantishna
- Toe of Exit Glacier to end of canyon (closed due to flood risk)
- None
- None
- None
- None
Closures (Remote Islands)
- Caneel Bay Resort (permanently closed)
- Pools of 'Ohe'o (AKA 'Ohe'o Gulch, 7 Sacred Pools) closed to swimming
- Mauna Loa Observatory Trail (closed due to Mauna Loa eruption in 2022)
- Kilauea Visitor Center (closed for renovation)
- Expect construction delays between the entrance station and former site of Jaggar Museum
- None
Cashless Parks*
Acadia, Isle Royale, Badlands, Wind Cave, Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Death Valley, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Crater Lake, Mount Rainier, Hawaii Volcanoes
*Cash is not accepted for entrance fee, permit fees, camping fees (for NPS run campgrounds), etc.
Book Corrections
Your Guide to the National Parks
Edition 3.5 Coming Soon!
National Park Maps
Page 34: one car leave(s)
Page 74: Background shifted
Page 118: Lehman Peak -> Wheeler Peak
Page 119: Wheeler Park -> Wheeler Peak
(not sure why my brain had such a difficult time with Wheeler Peak 🙂
Page 124: Channel Islands Aviation doesn't provide flights to the islands anymore
Dayhiker's Guide
Page 77: Caprock Coulee is a loop not out-and-back
Page 169: Sand Dune Arch/Broken Arch/Tapestry Arch is a lollipop (with spurs to Sand Dune and Tapestry) not an out-and-back
Page 281: Ladybird -> Lady Bird
Page 283: Cal-Barrel Road does not go through to US-101
Page 307: High Divide/Seven Lakes Basin